South of England Marathi Pariwar (SEMP) is a non-profit voluntary community organisation established in 2013. Its purpose is to cherish and share the rich Marathi culture from Maharashtra (western state in India) with everyone in the local community. In the past decade, SEMP has organised multiple events for the local community.

The longest running annual event for SEMP is its Ganapati festival. We celebrate the cultural side of this special festival. SEMP's Ganapati festival events are very well attended with hundreds of people, most of who are from professional families settled down in and around the city of Southampton, turning up to see their favourite "Bappa" (deity).